Brookfield Zoo's Baby Gorilla Gets Name

Nora was born Nov. 4, 2013, to 18-year-old mom Koola

The Brookfield Zoo's 4-month-old gorilla has a name.

Two weeks ago the zoo asked the public's help in naming the female gorilla infant, and more than 70,000 votes were cast. The winner? Nora, which means "honor" or "light."

The other choices were Alima, Amelia and Emma.

Nora was born Nov. 4, 2013, to 18-year-old mom Koola and can be spotted with the rest of her family in the Tropic World: Africa exhibit.

"Nora has become more aware of her surroundings but is always in contact with Koola,” said Craig Demitros, associate curator of primates for the Society. “She is beginning to show interest in food by mouthing pieces of the adults’ diet and is starting to manipulate objects in her environment."

The new baby is special in other ways too. She is the grandbaby of Binti, the gorilla famous for saving a child at Brookfield Zoo back in 1996. The drama unfolded when a 3-year-old fell 18 feet into the gorilla den. Many zoogoers thought Binti would eat the young boy, but instead she picked him up and guarded him from the other primates.

The kind-hearted heroine was eventually named Newsweek's Hero of the Year and one of People's most intriguing people.

If this newborn's gene pool wasn't already amazing enough, there's more. The baby's father, JoJo, is reportedly one of the most genetically valuable males in the zoo population.

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